UCD Fashion Show set to be reinstated

The UCD Fashion Show is set to go ahead next semester after a two-year hiatus.

UCD Students’ Union Ents Vice-President Jonny Cosgrove said that the beginnings of a committee have already been put together and a full committee is going to be assembled in the next few weeks.

In spite of the show’s absence for the past two years, Cosgrove disagrees that it has declined in popularity, insisting that he gets “constant e-mails about it”. He adds that any decline would be down to the event being run by people outside of the university, as he believes that “an event for students should be run by students”.

Bringing back the Fashion Show is a priority this year, as it made an appearance in both Cosgrove and SU President Paul Lynam’s election manifestos last year.

Efforts have been put into bringing back the show over the summer, “with an awful lot more organisation than in previous years” going into it, says Cosgrove. The auditions for dancers and models are set to take place in the next few weeks.

Part of the funding for the show will come from the Ents budget. There will also be sponsors on board this year, assures Cosgrove, and the event will be “self-standing and self-funding”.

Cosgrove is not seeking monetary backing from the university. He has, however, received approval for the project to go ahead and assurance that the university will “provide as much help as they can.”

Stereotyping and objectifying women and men has been an issue with UCD’s Fashion Shows, though one that “does not apply this year,” according to Cosgrove, as “it’s not about models trying to win contracts and dancers trying to show their stuff”.

Cosgrove has expressed annoyance at the event’s absence from campus for the past two years. However, he has great expectations for the coming show, promising a “spectacle” will be put on, as he wants it “to come back with a bang because UCD students will not stand for something bland”.

Prizes for the show will be announced in the next few weeks.

In previous years, the show has taken place in the RDS, but this year it will be held on campus, with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.